DUKE 

UNIVERSITY 


* 


AN  ESSAY 


L'POJf 


THE  CURING,  MANAGEMENT, 

£3D 


ui/nvATio.\  of 

d . J ' 

BY  D.  G.  TUCK, 

i 

tended  as  a Guide  to  those  who  may  undertake  to  carry  into  effect  his 
Patented  System,  or  Modes  of  Procedure,  for  the  Curing1 
and  Drying1  of  that  Article. 


TOBACCO ; 

M.  D. 


tutored  according  to  the  Ac'  of  Congress,  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  thirlw-two,  by 
f DAVID  G.  TUCK,  in  the  Clerk’s  ottice  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  uf 
t Virginia.} 


WASHINGTON: 


PRINTED  BY  GALES  AND  SEATON. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/essayuponcuringm01tuck 


4,33. 'Tl 

TW& 


507623 


INTRODUCTION. 


My  first  experiments  in  the  curing  of  tobacco  were 
made  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-eight. 
Those  experiments,  and  the  conflicting  modes  of  ma- 
nagement pursued  by  the  planters,  even  by  those  who 
were  the  most  intelligent,  soon  convinced  me  that  the 
subject  was  but  very  imperfectly  understood,  and  that 
there  was  great  need  of  some  regular  system  by  which 
the  greater  part,  if  not  the  whole  of  a crop,  could  be 
so  cured  as  to  be  of  good  quality. 

With  a view  to  the  discovery  of  such  a system,  and 
under  the  guidance  of  those  principles,  in  the  economy 
of  vegetables,  which  are  well  known  and  established, 
numerous  and  accurate  experiments  were  made  in  the 
three  succeeding  years,  from  which  has  resulted  the 
system  I now  offer. 

D.  G.  Tuck 


SECTION  I. 


Of  the  drying-house  or  barn — the  thermometer — the  distribution  of 
the  tobacco — the  fuel— the  stoves  or  kilns,  and  flues,  for  heating  the 
drying-house— the  scaffolds,  or  platforms,  for  diffusing  the  heat. 

The  house  in  which  the  tobacco  should  be  stored 
away  for  curing,  may  be  of  any  figure  or  dimensions 
the  planter  may  choose,  but  the  walls  and  gable  ends 
should  be  as  tight  as  possible;  and  the  latter,  unless 
tighter  than  usual,  should  be  lathed,  and  crammed  with 
dirt  or  mortar.  The  roof  should  be  of  shingles,  or  of 
slabs  nailed  or  pegged  to  laths;  and  should  have  suffi- 
cient apertures  in  it,  or  intervals  between  the  shingles 
or  slabs,  for  the  escape  of  the  vapor  arising  from  the 
tobacco  whilst  the  process  is  in  operation.  Such  a 
roof  as  is  common  to  barns  will  answer  very  well.  In 
roofs  already  made,  if  too  tight,  I would  advise  that 
small  apertures  be  made  on  each  side  of  the  ridge- 
pole, or  top;  which  openings  should  be  so  covered  as 
to  keep  out  rain.  The  door  should  also  be  very  tight, 
fitting  its  facings  closely,  and  having  an  inside  and  an 
outside  bolt.  Double  doors,  with  an  interval  of  a foot  or 
more  between  them,  one  of  them  opening  inside,  and 
the  other  outside  of  the  house,  and  both  fitting  close- 
ly to  the  opposite  edges  of  the  same  facing,  would,  in 
all  cases,  be  found  advantageous.  With  such  double 


6 


doors,  the  air  can  be  excluded  more  effectually  from 
the  tobacco;  the  first  can  be  closed  before  the  se- 
cond is  opened,  and  the  process,  consequently,  can  be 
conducted  with  the  greater  accuracy.  Open  houses, 
such  as  are  ordinarily  used,  are  extremely  objection- 
able. When  tobacco  is  housed  for  the  purpose  of 
being  dried,  heat , and  not  air,  is  the  element  which 
should  be  employed  to  effect  that  object.  As  soon  as 
the  vital  principle  of  the  plant  is  gone,  it  has  no  fur- 
ther need  of  air  beyond  the  quantity  which  is  unavoid- 
ably afforded  it;  all  it  requires  is',  that  quantity  of  heat 
which  will  dry  it  in  the  best  manner,  and  a house  suf- 
ficiently open  to  permit  the  escape  of  its  extricated 
vapors.  The  tier-poles  for  supporting  the  sticks  hold- 
ing the  tobacco,  may  be  arranged  as  the  planter 
chooses;  the  floor  should  be  level,  and  one  or  two 
windows  in  the  body  or  gable  ends  of  the  house,  will 
be  found  very  convenient  for  various  purposes;  and 
these,  like  the  door,  should  be  tightly  fitted.  Equi- 
distant from  the  corners  of  the  house,  and  eight  or  ten 
feet  high,  there  should  be  another  window,  large 
enough  to  receive  a small  pane  of  glass,  which  should 
be  fitted  in  it  as  closely  as  possible.  This  window 
may  be  on  either  side  of  the  house;  the  side  next  to 
the  door,  however,  will  be  found  most  convenient.  A 
small  opening  should  be  made  in  the  door,  or  in  some 
other  convenient  place,  for  the  purpose  of  viewing, 
when  necessary,  the  interior  of  the  house.  This  open- 


7 


ing,  as  well  as  the  windows,  should  have  a tightly  fil- 
ing shutter  or  stopper. 

The  house  being  in  the  requisite  condition,  a ther- 
mometer should  be  suspended  in  the  centre  of  it, 
eight  or  ten  feet  from  the  floor.  It  will  be  best  to  at- 
tach it  to  a string  passing  round  pulleys  or  rollers,  so 
arranged  that  the  thermometer  may  be  drawn  for  in- 
spection towards  the  small  glass  window  in  the  side 
of  the  house,  and  passed  back  to  the  centre,  at  plea- 
sure. One  of  the  pulleys  or  rollers  should  be  outside 
of  the  house,  just  over  the  glass,  and  the  other  just 
beyond,  or  near  the  thermometer,  and  the  strings 
around  them  should  fit  closely  into  the  holes  in  the 
house  through  which  they  pass. 

The  tobacco  should  next  be  stored  away,  and,  if 
very  large  and  full  of  sap,  six  or  seven  plants  will  be 
sufficient  for  a stick;  if  very  small,  ten  or  twelve;  sup- 
posing the  sticks  to  be  four  and  a half  feet  long,  which 
is,  I believe,  the  most  common  length.  All  very  large 
plants  should  be  cut  or  split  into  two  at  the  time  of 
cutting  them  in  the  field.  When  the  stalk  is  very  long, 
it  is  best  to  divide  them  transversely;  but  when  other- 
wise, longitudinally.  Each  plant  should  occupy  no 
more  than  its  due  proportion  of  the  stick,  and  the 
sticks  should  be  placed  from  six  to  twelve  inches  apart, 
according  to  the  size  and  sappiness  of  the  tobacco. 
A similar  space  should  also  be  left  between  the  to- 
bacco and  the  walls  of  the  house.  Hanging  it  thin, 


8 


is  of  much  consequence  when  the  tobacco  has  a re- 
dundancy of  sap.  Care  should  be  taken  to  avoid 
bruises,  to  pull  apart  all  leaves  adhering  together, 
and  to  prevent  the  tobacco  from  being  in  contact 
ith  any  thing  but  the  stick  that  supports  it.  Whilst 
storing,  a space  of  a foot  or  more,  should  be  left  be- 
tween the  thermometer  and  the  glass  window,  so  that 
the  former  may  be  drawn  backwards  and  forwards 
without  obstruction.  In  every  instance  in  which  I have 
used  the  thermometer,  a space  of  four  or  five  feet 
square  has  been  left  around  it,  and  was  extended  down- 
wards to  the  scaffold  or  floor.  If  there  should  not 
be  tobacco  enough  to  fill  the  house,  the  thermometer 
should  first  be  surrounded  by  it,  in  the  proper  man- 
ner, and  the  remainder  be  equally  distributed  from 
the  centre.  • 

Well  dried  hickory,  or  oak,  wood  should  be  prefer 
red  as  fuel  for  the  process,  when  it  is  intended  to  ad- 
mit the  smoke;  when  it  is  to  be  excluded,  other  de- 
scriptions will  answer.  It  will  be  found  best,  however, 
always  to  have  the  wood  dry,  even  when  the  smoke 
is  excluded. 

The  next  thing  for  consideration  is  the  heating  of 
the  drying  house.  Any  stove  or  kiln  will  be  sufficient 
for  that  purpose,  (in  which  a fire  can  be  made  that  will 
raise  the  temperature  of  the  house  to  160  degrees,  or 
thereabout,  of  Fahrenheit’s  thermometer,)  under  the 
circumstances  and  within  the  period  that  will  be  here- 


9 


after  mentioned.  A stove  or  kiln  of  the  following 
description  will  answer  well  in  a house  of  the  ordinary 
height  and  size — say  of  twenty  feet  square — and  com- 
bines such  advantages,  in  regard  to  economy  and  sim- 
plicity, as  to  enable  any  person  to  use  it:  Raise  a 
brick  or  stone  pen,  with  its  walls  as  thin  as  they  can 
be  made,  so  as  to  preserve  the  necessary  strength;  it 
may  be  eight  feet  long,  in  the  clear,  three  wide,  two 
deep,  and  arched  over  with  brick,  or  any  other  suit- 
able material,  so  as  to  make  it  three  feet  high  in  the 
interior,  when  it  is  finished.  In  each  side  of  the  kiln 
or  pen,  near  the  floor,  there  should  be  five  or  six 
holes,  equi-distant  from  each  other,  and  about  double 
the  size  of  a brick,  to  let  out  heat  when  the  fire  is 
raised.  Its  ends  should  point  towards  the  gable  ends 
of  the  house,  and  in  each  should  be  an  opening  for  the 
supply  of  fuel;  and  its  centre  should  cover  the  centre 
of  the  floor,  or  thereabouts.  It  should  be  so  situated 
as  to  afford  the  greatest  facilities  for  equalizing  the 
temperature  of  the  house  when  the  fire  is  raised.  If 
the  house  should  be  larger,  the  stove  or  kiln  should 
be  enlarged  accordingly,  or  more  kilns  must  be  pro- 
vided. The  heating  of  the  drying  house,  by  this  kiln, 
although  much  safer  to  the  barn  and  to  the  tobacco, 
and  in  all  other  respects  better  than  the  mode  by  open 
fires,  usually  adopted,  is,  nevertheless,  in  some  re- 
spects, objectionable.  When  the  door  is  opened  for 

the  purpose  of  supplying  the  fire  with  fuel,  the  ad- 

2 


10 


mission  of  the  atmosphere  impairs  the  equability  of 
the  temperature  of  the  house,  and,  to  a slight  extent, 
interferes  with  the  success  of  the  process,  particularly 
when  it  is  conducted  without  double  doors.  Besides, 
when  the  fire  is  intense,  and  fresh  fuel  is  added,  it 
emits  a dense,  black,  sooty  smoke,  which,  in  some 
degree,  impairs  the  value  of  the  tobacco.  Except  at 
those  times,  the  combustion  is  more  effectual,  and  but 
very  little  smoke  escapes  from  the  kiln.  If  the  barn 
should  be  so  very  tight  as  to  prevent  the  admission  of 
a sufficiency  of  air  to  keep  an  active  flame  in  the  kiln 
when  required,  ventilators  should  be  used  for  that  pur- 
pose. They  will,  however,  be  but  seldom  necessary. 

If  it  should  be  desired  to  exclude  the  smoke  en- 
tirely, which  I think  should  always  be  done,  it  may 
be  easily  effected,  and  the  house  be  sufficiently  heated 
by  flues  or  kilns  passing  entirely  through  it.  In  a 
house  of  twenty  feet  square,  and  of  ordinary  height, 
two  flues,  with  an  interior  of  two  feet  and  a half 
square,  will  be  sufficient.  The  arch  and  walls  should 
bo  as  {hin  as  the  necessary  strength  of  the  flues  will 
allow;  and  in  one  end  of  each  should  be  an  opening 
for  the  supply  of  fuel;  in  the  other  end,  a perpendicu- 
lar flue  or  pipe,  of  brick  or  metal,  eight  or  nine  inches 
in  diameter,  and  five  or  six  feet  long,  for  the  escape 
of  the  smoke.  Unless  the  walls  be  very  thin,  the 
transmission  of  heat  through  them  will  be  very  slow — 
an  inconvenience  that  may,  in  some  degree,  be  re- 


11 


moved  by  covering  the*  kilns  wholly,  or  in  part,  with 
sheet  iron.  The  flues,  or  stoves,  should  extend  in  the 
direction  of  the  gable  ends  of  the  house,  and  be  placed 
on  its  floor  in  such  a manner  as  will  make  them  dif 
fuse  the  heat  most  equally.  By  this  mode,  however, 
of  raising  the  heat,  much  more  fuel  is  required  than  by 
any  other — perhaps  six  or  eight  times  the  quantity — 
particularly  when  the  flues  are  not  covered  with  sheet 
iron;  when  thus  covered,  the  quantity  of  fuel  required 
is  very  much  lessened.  This  mode  is  objectionable  in 
other  respects.  Whenever  the  wind  is  high,  and  ad- 
verse to  the  draught  of  the  flues,  they  cease  to  draw,  or 
draw  very  badly,  and  the  tobacco  becomes  injured  by 
the  unavoidable  suspension  of  the  process.  This  dif- 
ficulty I have  known  frequently  to  arise. 

The  drying  house  may  be  also  sufficiently  heated 
by  stoves  or  kilns  erected  within  its  walls,  so  con- 
structed as  to  carry  off  the  greater  part  of  the  smoke, 
and  require  much  less  fuel  than  tight  flues.  Such  a 
kiln  or  stove  as  the  one  first  named,  supplied  with  an 
appropriate  pipe,  at  each  end,  for'  carrying  off  the 
smoke,  and  sheet  iron,  or  other  shutters,  to  close  the 
ends,  when  required,  I have  found  to  answer  tolerably 
well,  though  liable,  in  part,  to  the  objections  of  that 
kiln.  Any  mode  of  raising  the  heat  which  makes  it 
necessary  to  enter  the  house  frequently,  is  objection- 
able. Such  a kiln,  however,  is  much  to  be  preferred 
to  open  fires,  or  such  kilns  as  admit  the  smoke  and 
other  vapors. 


12 


Such  scaffolds  or  platforms  should  be  employed  as 
will  diffuse  the  heat  most  equably.  In  a house  of 
twenty  feet  square,  one  scaffold,  eighteen  feet  long 
and  ten  wide,  erected  over  such  a kiln  as  the  one 
which  was  first  and  last  described,  I have  found  to 
answer  well.  It  should  be  about  six  feet  high,  and  may 
be  made  of  rough  plank,  placed  loosely  upon  poles: 
the  planks,  however,  should  always  have  an  inter- 
val of  one  or  two  inches  between  them,  for  the  ascent 
of  the  heat.  Two  scaffolds,  of  the  same  length  and 
height,  and  about  four  feet  wide,  erected  over  the  flues 
which  have  been  described,  will  also  answer  the  in- 
tended purpose.  They  may,  however,  be  placed 
lower,  provided  there  is  no  danger  from  the  fire:  the 
nearer  they  are  to  the  flues  the  better  they  will  oper- 
ate in  equalizing  the  heat.  By  raising  the  fire,  and 
suspending  thermometers  in  different  parts  of  the 
house,  their  capacity  in  this  respect  may  be  easily  as- 
certained. This  should  always  be  done,  particularly 
when  the  size  or  figure  of  the  drying  house  is  differ- 
ent from  the  one  just  named.  .Such  an  experiment, 
however,  never  should  be  made  after  the  tobacco  is 
housed. 

I will  again  return  to  the  heating  of  the  drying 
house.  In  the  Fall  of  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty,  I 
constructed  a flue,  or  flues,  for  which  I obtained  let- 
ters patent  of  the  United  States,  independent  of  the 
patent  obtained  for  the  system  of  curing.  These  flues 


13 


have  completely  overcome  all  the  difficulties  present- 
ed by  those  before  named.  Their  draught  is  not  at  all 
dependent  upon  the  direction  of  the  winds:  they  ex- 
clude or  admit  the  smoke,  as  may  be  preferred;  enable 
the  attendant  to  command  promptly  any  required  tem- 
perature; and  very  much  economise  the  quantity  of 
fuel,  when  compared  with  other  flues  which  exclude 
the  smoke.  The  following  is  a description  of  them, 
in  the  words  of  the  specification  of  the  patent: — 

“ The  material  of  which  I usually  construct  the 
said  flues  or  stoves,  is  common  brick;  as,  under  most 
circumstances,  it  is  most  readily  obtained,  and  less 
costly  than  any  other.  They,  however,  may  be  made  of 
stone,  iron,  fire  bricks,  slabs,  or  tiles,  made  and  baked 
in  the  manner  of  brick,  or  of  any  other  material.  The 
dimensions  of  my  said  flues  or  stoves  must  be  varied 
to  suit  the  size  of  the  barn,  or  drying  house,  in  which 
they  are  to  be  used;  and  they  will  also  admit  of  con- 
siderable variation  in  this  particular,  in  a house  of  any 
size,  whilst  the  principle  of  construction  may  yet  be 
retained.  For  the  sake  of  description,  I assume  cer- 
tain dimensions,  which  I have  found  to  answer  the  in- 
tention perfectly,  but  do  not  intend  to  establish  any 
limit  in  this  particular. 

“ These  flues  are  to  be  so  constructed  that  they 
may  be  supplied  with  fuel  from  the  outside  of  the 
house,  and  that  the  smoke,  and  other  vapors  from  the 
fire,  which  it  may*be  desirable  to  exclude  from  the  in- 


14 


terior  of  the  building,  shall,  after  passing  through  the 
large  flue,  or  stove,  in  which  the  fire  is  contained,  to 
a spot  near  the  centre  of  the  building,  return  through 
a second  or  smaller  flue,  which  may  be  parallel  to, 
and  in  contact  with,  that  first  named,  and  be  deliver- 
ed, or  have  its  exit,  near  the  opening  for  feeding  the 
fire. 

“ Suppose  my  house  to  be  twenty  feet  square,  and 
of  the  ordinary  height:  near  the  middle  of  one  end 
or  side  of  the  barn,  I make  an  opening  for  the  mouth 
of  my  flue  or  stove;  this  flue  or  stove  is  a square  or 
arched  trunk,  about  thirty  inches  in  width,  and  the 
same  in  height.  It  is  built  horizontally  upon  the  floor 
of  the  barn,  and  extends  within  it  to  the  distance  of 
about  seven  feet  from  the  wall.  To  receive  the  in- 
ner end  of  this  flue,  a square,  or  other  formed  pen,  or 
box,  is  erected,  of  brick,  or  other  materials.  This  pen 
or  box  may  be  four  feet  in  length,  and  two  in  width, 
and  of  the  same  height  with  the  larger  flue  or  stove, 
which  terminates  in  it.  It  should  stand  at  right  an- 
gles with  the  flue  or  stove,  which  is  to  enter  it  in  one 
of  its  broad  sides.  The  smaller  flue,  through  which 
the  smoke  is  to  return,  also  opens  into  this  box  or 
pen,  alongside  of  the  larger  flue,  and  may  return,  and 
pass  through  the  building  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fire- 
place, or  feeding  door.  This  second  flue  may  be 
made  of  the  same  materials  with  the  former,  but  need 
not  be  more  than  one-fourth  of  its  size.  From  the 


15 


end  of  it  a flue  or  pipe  is  erected,  perpendicularly,  to 
the  height  of  five  or  six  feet,  to  serve  as  a chimney,  to 
furnish  a draught  and  carry  off  the  smoke.  The  interi- 
or diameter  of  this  chimney  need  not  exceed  seven  or 
eight  inches,  and  an  iron  plate,  or  some  other  flat  arti- 
cle, must  be  provided  to  stop  the  draught,  when  re- 
quired, by  being  placed  upon  the  top  of  the  said  flue. 

“ It  is  manifest,  that,  in  a structure  of  this  kind,  a fire 
may  be  made,  and  that  the  smoke  will  pass  out  at  the 
chimney;  but,  as  soon  as  the  wood  is  charred,  and  the 
fire  burns  clearly,  it  is  intended  to  admit  the  heated  air 
into  the  barn,  and  to  stop  the  draught  through  the  flue, 
or  chimney.  For  the  purpose  of  admitting  the  heated 
air,  the  pen  or  box,  before  described,  is  provided  with 
an  iron  or  other  door  or  stopper,  opening  from  it  into 
the  barn.  This  door  may  be  twenty  inches  square: 
it  may  be  fixed  by  hinges,  or  otherwise,  so  that  it  may 
be  opened  as  soon  as  the  smoke  has  ceased  to  escape 
from  the  chimney,  and,  at  this  time,  the  top  of  the 
chimney  may  have  its  cover  placed  so  as  entirely,  or 
partially,  to  stop  the  draught  through  it. 

“ A second  flue  or  stove,  constructed  exactly  like 
the  one  just  described,  with  all  its  appurtenances,  is 
to  be  erected  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  barn.  The 
pens  or  boxes',  forming  the  termination  of  each  of  the 
flues  or  stoves,  will  thus  leave  a passage  of  about  two 
feet  between  them,  on  the  centre  of  the  building. 

“ These  flues  or  stoves  may  be  used  either  sepa- 


16 


rately  or  conjointly;  it  will  be  found  best,  however, 
always  to  make  a fire  in  each,  as  there  will  then  be  no 
interval  in  which  the  heated  air  from  the  fire  may 
not  be  admitted  directly  into  the  barn. 

“ The  manner  in  which  the  heat  may  be  regularly 
distributed,  and  applied  to  the  curing  of  tobacco,  is 
fully  described  in  the  specification  of  a patent  for  a 
new  mode  of  curing  tobacco,  which  was  granted  unto 
ine  on  the  first  day  of  October,  eighteen  hundred  and 
thirty.  To  the  system,  or  modes  of  procedure  therein 
described,  these  flues  or  stoves  are  particularly  adapt- 
ed; but  they  may  also  be  used  when  tobacco  is  cured 
in  the  ordinary  way. 

“ When  flues  are  carried  entirely  through  a barn,  or 
drying  house,  the  draught  cannot  be  advantageously 
managed,  and  most  of  the  heat  is  lost — a difficulty  ob- 
viated by  flues  or  stoves  constructed  upon  the  princi- 
ple above  described. 

“ What  I claim,  as  my  invention  or  discovery,  is  the 
application  of  flues  or  stoves,  constructed  upon  the 
within  described  principle,  by  which  the  heated  air 
from  the  fuel  may  be  admitted  directly  into  the  barn 
or  drying  house,  for  the  purpose  of  drying  and  curing 
of  tobacco,  whilst  the  smoke  maybe  entirely  excluded. 
I also  claim  the  returning  of  the  draught  of  the  flue 
or  stove,  by  means  of  which  the  draught  of  the  fire  is 
readily  and  perfectly  managed,  so  as  to  produce  great 
economy  in  the  use  of  the  fuel.  The  escape  flue, 


17 


however,  may  be  carried  out  at  any  part  of  the  build- 
ing, although  not  with  equal  advantage.  It  may,  for 
example,  be  carried  directly  through  the  house,  and 
yet  the  main  object  of  my  patent,  that  of  admitting  the 
heated  air,  without  the  smoke,  may  still  be  attained.” 

The  planter  will  always  find  it  better  to  have  these 
flues  or  stoves  covered  with  sheet  or  cast  iron,  and  to 
have  the  return  flues  as  large,  or  very  nearly,  as  those 
in  which  the  fires  are  contained.  He  will  also  find  it 
better  to  have  a shutter  to  the  feeding  door  of  each  flue. 

The  construction  or  figure  of  these  flues  may  be 
varied  in  such  a manner  as  to  answer  the  purpose 
for  which  the  scaffolds  are  employed,  or  very  nearly 
so,  and  thus  to  supersede  their  use.  One  of  them, 
with  holes  in  its  sides  for  letting  out  heat,  and  suffi- 
ciently enlarged  to  pass  all  around  the  house,  within 
four  or  five  feet  of  its  walls,  has  been  found,  by  a 
friend  of  mine,  to  answer  admirably  well.  The  addi- 
tional expense  is  the  only  objection  to  this  variation. 

Instead  of  constructing  the  flues  in  either  of  the  fore- 
going ways,  I have  made  them  in  a form  still  more 
simple,  cheaper,  and,  so  far  as  I have  tried  them, 
have  found  them  to  answer  equally  well.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  plan  alluded  to:  I build  a flue,  the  sides  of 
which  are  of  brick,  or  other  suitable  material,  and 
with  a covering  of  sheet  iron;  which  flue  I extend  en- 
tirely across  the  house,  from  one  side  to  the  other. 
This  flue  or  trunk  maybe  from  thirty  inches  to  three 
3 


18 


feet  in  height,  and  about  two  feet  six  inches  in  width, 
from  end  to  end.  It  is  furnished  with  a door  at  each 
end  for  feeding  the  fire;  this  being  done  at  either 
or  both  ends,  according  to  circumstances.  Within  the 
walls  which  fill  up  the  openings  at  the  sides  of  the 
house,  and  form  the  mason  work  at  each  end,  I carry 
up  a small  chimney,  to  the  height  of  about  two  feet,  for 
the  escape  of  smoke,  which  is  allowed  to  pass  through 
an  opening  in  front,  about  six  inches  square.  This 
opening,  being  at  right  angles  with  the  ascending  part, 
carries  oft'the  smoke  or  sparks  directly  from  the  house. 

From  the  upper  part  on  each  side  of  the  main  flue, 
and  at  each  of  its  ends,  I carry  down  a small  flue, 
opening  near  the  floor  of  the  barn;  which  opening  may 
be  stopped  by  a brick,  or  other  means.  These  open- 
ings are  for  the  purpose  of  admitting  the  heated  air 
into  the  barn,  as  soon  as  the  wood  has  ceased  to  give 
out  smoke,  which  is  done  by  merely  removing  the 
brick,  or  other  stopper.  The  feeding  doors  should 
also,  at  such  a time,  be  nearly  closed,  and  the  open- 
ings for  the  escape  of  smoke  perfectly  so. 

The  sheet  iron  used  for  covering  the  kilns  may  be 
made  in  three  or  four  lengths,  and  be  moveable,  mere- 
ly lying  upon  the  walls  of  the  flue.  They  will  then 
answer  for  other  drying  houses,  as  they  may  be  re- 
moved as  soon  as  the  leaf  is  cured,  the  ignited  coals 
being  sufficient  to  continue  the  heat  for  the  curing  of 
the  stem  and  stalk.  * 


19 


SECTION  II. 

Of  the  degrees  of  heat  or  temperature,  for  curing — their  various  ef- 
fects— the  different  states  of  the  tobacco — and  the  general  principle 
of  the  system. 

The  degree  of  heat,  or  range  of  temperature,  that 
should  be  applied  in  the  process,  must  depend  upon 
the  size  and  substance  of  the  tobacco,  its  state,  and 
upon  the  particular  quality  which  the  planter  may  aim 
to  make.  When  it  contains  eight  or  nine  leaves  to  a 
plant,  and  the  leaves  are  about  twenty-four  inches  in 
length,  the  following  table  of  heat,  with  such  varia- 
tions as  will  be  hereafter  designated,  will  serve  as  the 
best  guide  in  curing  the  leaf. 

During  the  first  four  hours,  the  mercury  in  the  ther- 
mometer should  be  made  to  rise  in  the  most  gradual 
manner,  from  its  atmospherical  altitude,  to  100  de- 
grees, or  thereabouts.  During  the  next  four  hours,  it 
should  be  made  to  rise,  in  like  manner,  to  110  de- 
grees, and  then,  in  the  same  ratio,  ten  degrees  for 
every  four  hours,  as  nearly  as  can  be  done,  until  the 
leaf  is  thoroughly  dried.  A variation  of  eight  or  ten 
degrees  from  this  range  of  temperature  will  do  but 
little,  if  any,  mischief,  unless  persevered  in  too  long; 
but  a greater  one  should  be  promptly  arrested  by  the 


20 


appropriate  means.  Removing  wood  from  the  fire  is 
a much  better  mode  of  effecting  this  than  opening  the 
door. 

The  time  that  will  be  occupied  in  drying  the  leaf, 
will  depend  upon  its  substance,  or  the  quantity  of  sap 
to  be  thrown  off.  If  it  should  be  very  thin  and  well 
matured,  and,  of  course,  contain  but  little  sap,  firom 
twenty  to  twenty-four  hours  will  generally  be  sufficient; 
if  otherwise,  from  twenty-four  to  thirty  hours.  The 
green  tobacco,  however,  loses  its  sap  much  more  ra- 
pidly, in  proportion  to  its  quantity,  than  that  which  is 
well  matured,  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the  sap  being  more 
diluted,  and  the  leaf  more  porous. 

As  soon  as  the  process  has  commenced,  the  attend1- 
ant  should  draw  the  thermometer  towards  the  glass 
window,  to  see  if  it  is  within  the  proper  limit,  and 
regulate  his  fire  accordingly;  after  which,  he  may 
watch  its  progress  through  the  hole  in  the  door,  re- 
placing the  shutter  after  each  observation.  When  he 
goes  in  to  supply  the  fire  with  fuel,  or  for  any  other 
purpose,  the  door  should  be  cldisd  instantly,  and  se- 
cured by  the  inside  bolt.  The  same  precaution  should 
be  taken  when  returning;  never  suffering  it  to  stand 
open  a moment  longer  than  is  absolutely  necessary 
for  passing  and  repassing.  The  frequent  admission 
of  the  air,  when  the  vapor  arising  from  the  tobacco  is 
passing  through  the  roof  of  the  house,  is  always  ob- 
jectionable, particularly  when  the  tobacco  is  extreme- 


ly  yellow;  by  such  admission,  the  escape  of  the  vapor 
is  checked,  it  becomes  more  or  less  condensed,  and 
not  only  produces  the  phenomenon,  called  “ sweat- 
ing,” but  a chemical  action  upon  the  properties  of  the 
tobacco,  which  gives  to  the  leaf  a variety  of  shades, 
and  very  much  impairs  its  texture. 

When  the  leaf  is  thoroughly  dried,  the  planter  may, 
if  in  want  of  the  thermometer  to  carry  on  the  process 
in  another  barn  or  drying  house,  have  it  removed,  and, 
whilst  drying  the  stem  and  stalk,  regulate  the  temper- 
ature sufficiently  well  without  it.  The  temperature 
that  completes  the  drying  of  the  leaf  will  suit  very 
well  for  that  purpose,  unless  it  shall  be  desirable  to 
dry  the  stem  and  leaf  of  the  same  color;  if  so,  the 
mercury  should  be  made  to  rise  gradually,  in  the  ratio 
mentioned,  until  the  stem  is  dried.  The  attendant 
may  easily  know  when  the  leaf  is  dry,  by  examining 
some  of  the  largest  plants.  The  top  leaves,  from 
which  the  vapor  escapes  more  slowly  than  from  the 
others,  and  which  are,  consequently,  the  last  that  dry, 
should  be  his  guide.  When  I speak  of  top  or  bottom 
leaves,  it  is  with  reference  to  the  plant  as  it  stands  in 
the  field.  It  will  be  found  best,  however,  always  to 
retain  the  thermometer  as  a guard  against  too  high  a 
degree  of  heat.  Essential  oils,  when  removed  by  dis- 
tillation from  the  plants  containing  them,  evaporate  at 
about  212  degrees  of  Fahrenheit’s  thermometer;  and 
tobacco,  containing  such  an  oil,  although  in  combina- 


22 


tion  with  its  other  constituents,  will  lose  it  in  part  at 
the  same,  or  even  a much  lower  temperature.  Re- 
peated experiments  have  proved,  beyond  doubt,  the 
truth  of  this  proposition;  and  when  it  is  desirable  to 
reduce  the  tobacco,  so  as  to  suit  a smoking  market, 
it  may  be  done  in  this  as  well  as  many  other  ways. 
Moreover,  when  the  temperature  is  much  too  high,  it 
will  impart  to  the  tobacco  a smell  of  fire,  which,  if 
slight,  will  soon  leave  it;  but  it  will  also  give  to  the 
woody  fibre  of  the  leaf,  a stiffness  or  rigidity  that  will 
very  much  impair  its  value.  The  opinion  is  too  com- 
mon among  planters,  that,  when  the  leaf  is  dry,  but 
little  or  no  injury  can  be  sustained  by  the  violent  fires 
which  are  generally  used  in  curing  the  stem  and  stalk; 
an  error  productive  of  as  much  mischief,  perhaps,  as 
any  hitherto  committed  in  the  process.  I would  great- 
ly prefer  to  come  under  the  temperature  which  com- 
pletes the  drying  of  the  leaf,  than  to  transcend  it  whilst 
drying  the  stem  and  stalk.  The  time  generally  occu- 
pied in  effecting  their  desiccation,  is  from  two  to  three 
days,  and  is  nearly  the  same  for  small  and  large  to- 
bacco. The  small  tobacco  being  much  thinner  than 
the  large,  is  more  liable  to  injuries  from  a high  de- 
gree of  heat,  and  should,  consequently,  have  its  stem 
and  stalk  dried  bv  such  a temperature  as  will  accord 
with  its  comparative  fineness  of  texture.  Fine  tex- 
tures, of  any  description,  receive  the  smell  of  fire  much 
more  readily  than  coarse  ones,  from  high  temperatures. 


23 


However,  when  the  tobacco  is  parting  with  its  vapor 
most  rapidly,  the  attendant  should  watch  the  fire  with 
much  care,  and  see  that  the  temperature  is  sufficiently 
high.  The  thermometer  may  probably  stand  much 
lower  than  might  be  expected  from  the  intensity  of 
the  combustion;  the  reason  of  which  is,  that  a large 
portion  of  heat,  at  such  a time,  is  rendered  latent,  by 
entering  into  chemical  combination  with  the  vapor  that 
is  rapidly  passing  off,  and  thQs  fails  to  give  that  alti- 
tude to  the  mercury  which  it  would  otherwise  produce. 
Unless  the  fire  should  be  well  attended  to  at  this  pe- 
riod of  the  process,  the  leaf  will  sustain  some  injury. 
It  should  also  be  watched  with  equal  care,  as  soon  as 
most  of  the  vapor  is  thrown  off;  the  heat  then  becomes 
more  free,  and  the  fire,  which  had  just  failed  to  raise 
the  mercury  to  120  degrees,  will  produce  a tempera- 
ture of  200  degrees,  or  more,  which  will  very  much 
impair,  if  not  destroy,  the  quality  of  the  tobacco. 
These  facts  are  important,, and  should  be  well  recol- 
lected. 

The  aspect  of  the  tobacco,  when  the  process  is  end- 
ed, will  entirely  depend  upon  its  condition  when  the 
fire  was  applied.  If  it  was  extremely  yellow  and  well 
matured  before  it  was  cut,  and  if  its  component  parts 
have  not,  by  exposure  to  the  sun  or  a warm  atmos- 
phere, acquired  too  strong  a tendency  to  decomposi- 
tion or  reaction, .it  will  be  as  follows: 

The  back  of  the  leaf  will  exhibit  the  same  green 


21 


color,  or  very  nearly,  as  it  did  before  it  was  dried,  and 
the  whole  will  appear  nearly  transparent,  when  held 
between  the  light  and  the  eye;  an  aspect  which  proves 
that  but  little,  if  any,  chemical  action  has  been  excited 
or  produced  upon  its  constituents  whilst  its  vapor 
was  passing  off,  and  that  it  retains  its  essential  and 
aromatic  properties  in  the  highest  degree.  The  pre- 
servation of  the  natural  color  of  well  matured  plants, 
directly  after  they  are  dried,  is  generally  the  best  test 
of  the  retention  of  all  their  valuable  properties.  When 
tobacco  of  this  description  is  thus  cured,  exempt  from 
any  chemical  action  upon  its  properties,  it  will  soon, 
through  the  agency  of  atmospherical  heat  and  moisture, 
lose  its  greenish  color,  and  become  a fine  yellow.  Its 
yellowness,  however,  when  it  is  thus  changed  by 
heat  and  moisture,  will  be  in  proportion  to  its  yellow- 
ness when  cut;  and  the  tobacco  will  require  a time  to 
lose  its  greenish  color,  proportioned  to  its  degree,  or 
the  deepness  of  its  shade;  when  it  has  no  shade  of 
yellow  in  the  field,  the  green  color  will,  ultimately, 
be  nearly  or  wholly  lost  in  a dark  one,  and  the  leaf 
will  have  little  or  no  transparency.  These  proposi- 
tions are  fully  confirmed  by  samples  now  in  my  pos- 
session, which  were  cured  more  than  a year  since. 
If  much  of  the  leaf  should  not  be  transparent,  and 
retain  its  natural  color,  or  approach  it  very  nearly, 
when  the  desiccation  is  effected,  it  will  be  evidence 
that  the  temperatures  were  raised  too  slowly,  or  too 


25 


rapidly,  to  cure  the  tobacco  of  the  character  just  men- 
tioned. When  they  are  raised  too  slowly,  it  will  have 
dark  or  reddish  shades,  or  spots,  particularly  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  leaves;  in  such  places  the  texture 
of  the  leaf  will  be  coarser,  more  spongy,  have  the  ap- 
pearance called  by  the  planter,  “ grain,”  and  will  im- 
bibe moisture  more  freely  than  the  other  parts  of  it. 
In  those  places  the  alkaline  property  of  the  plant  has, 
probably,  in  some  degree,  neutralized  its  oil,  to  its  in- 
jury or  benefit,  as  the  tobacco  merchant  may  hereafter 
determine.  The  bottom  leaves,  which  dry  first,  will 
be  most  transparent,  and,  in  proportion  to  the  advance 
towards  that  range  of  temperatures  which  would  have 
dried  the  whole  of  the  plant,  exempt  from  any  injuri- 
ous chemical  action,  will  be  the  quantity  of  this  de- 
scription. When  the  temperatures  are  raised  too  ra- 
pidly, colors  nearly  similar  to  those  just  mentioned 
will  be  produced,  though  generally  darker,  and  much 
more  glossy;  the  texture  in  those  places  will  be  finer 
than  elsewhere,  will  receive  moisture  more  slowly, 
and,  in  proportion  to  the  approach  towards  that  range 
of  temperatures  which  will  dry  the  plant  of  a uniform 
character,  will  be  the  diminution  of  these  appearances. 
These  effects  of  the  temperatures  should  be  well  re- 
collected; they  will  serve  as  important  guides  in  the 
subsequent  curings;  when  the  heat  is  raised  a great 
deal  too  rapidly,  some  parts  of  the  leaves  on  the  plants 
will  be  dried  with  a muddy,  dingy-green  color,  and 
4 


26 


most  of  the  valuable  properties  of  the  plant  will  be 
thrown  off  with  its  vapor;  consequently  the  rule  should 
be  rigidly  observed,  never  to  apply  a greater  degree 
of  heat,  or  a higher  range  of  temperatures  for  curing, 
than  is  absolutely  necessary  to  bring  the  tobacco  to 
the  desired  state  and  color;  by  this  precaution,  its 
texture  will  be  preserved  from  injury.  If  the  to- 
bacco, however,  shall  have  acquired,  by  re-action  upon 
its  properties,  any  additional  yellowness  in  the  interval 
between  cutting  and  the  application  of  the  fires,  it  will 
be  difficult  to  dry  it  uniformly  transparent  by  any  table 
of  temperatures.  If  the  additional  yellowness  on  the 
leaf  should  be  very  slight  and  partial,  it  will  ensure  a 
yellowish  piebald  appearance;  but  if  it  has  been  al- 
lowed to  become  uniformly  yellow  throughout  the  leaf, 
it  will  have  a uniformly  reddish,  or  mahogany,  color, 
after  it  has  undergone  the  usual  changes  by  moisture. 
In  proportion  to  the  re-action  that  has  taken  place, 
will  it  approach  to,  or  recede  from,  a uniform  trans- 
parency. One  day’s  exposure  to  a hot  sun  or  atmos- 
phere, will  frequently  so  much  change  the  properties 
of  the  plant  as  to  defeat  the  end  proposed,  and  cause 
the  tobacco  to  dry  with  a piebald  aspect.  Hence  the 
propriety  of  always  housing  tobacco  which  has  well 
yellowed  in  the  field  as  soon  as  possible,  particularly 
if  the  weather  should  be  warm;  and  hence,  also,  the 
necessity  of  raising  the  fires  immediately.  The  ine- 
quality of  the  action  of  the  sun  and  dews  on  tobacco 


27 


before  it  is  dried,  renders  exposure  to  them  objection- 
able, particularly  as  all  the  variety  of  colors  of  which 
it  is  susceptible  may  be  produced  with  much  more 
ease  and  certainty  in  the  house,  where  any  required 
climate  may  be  attained. 

Tobacco  that  is  brought  to  the  knife  in  a state  that 
the  planter  calls  “ ripening  green,”  and  of  the  size 
and  substance  before  mentioned,  will,  like  the  yellow 
tobacco,  when  it  is  dried  by  the  table  of  temperatures 
before  named,  present  an  aspect  entirely  dependent 
upon  its  condition  when  they  were  applied.  If  no 
change  has  taken  place  among  its  constituents,  and 
they  are  exempt  from  that  susceptibility  of  change 
which  is  generally  produced  by  the  causes  before 
mentioned,  it  will,  immediately  after  being  dried,  have 
very  nearly  its  natural  color.  The  face  of  the  leaf, 
however,  I have  generally  found  with  a faint  shade  of 
yellow.  Whether  such  tobacco,  thus  dried,  should 
be  preferred  to  that  whose  properties  have  partially, 
or  extensively,  reacted  upon  each  other  before  or 
whilst  drying,  or,  in  other  words,  have  chemically 
changed,  is  a question  that  must  hereafter  be  deter- 
mined by  the  tobacco  merchant  and  consumer.  At 
present,  a partial,  or  slight  change  upon  the  proper- 
ties of  such  tobacco,  such  a one  as  will  give  it  a va- 
riegated aspect,  is  preferred  by  them;  an  effect  that 
may  be  produced  in  various  ways.  The  following 
variation,  however,  in  the  table  of  temperatures,  is 
preferable  to  all  other  means  for  producing  it. 


28 


As  soon  as  the  tobacco  is  housed,  the  mercury 
should  be  raised  quickly  to  about  100  degrees,  and 
should  be  kept  there  until  the  tobacco  has  acquired 
a slightly  yellowish  cast;  after  which  it  should  be  rais- 
ed in  the  same  ratio  that  has  been  recommended  for 
the  yellow  tobacco.  By  this  mode  of  yellowing  the 
tobacco,  it  frequently  happens  that  some  of  the  yel- 
lowness produced  by  the  preparatory  steaming  is  re- 
tained, particularly  when  it  is  very  slight,  before  the 
appropriate  temperatures  are  raised  upon  it.  If  a 
much  lower  table  of  temperatures  than  I have  recom- 
mended should  be  applied  after  the  yellowing,  the  top 
leaves,  and  those  next  to  them,  will  be  dried  very  bad- 
ly, and  the  plant  will  have  but  little  uniformity.  The 
variation  recommended  in  the  table  of  heat,  is  admi- 
rably suited  to  old  bottom  land,  or  tot  land  tobacco, 
which  comes  to  the  knife  with  a green  color.  Forty 
or  fifty  hours  steaming,  I have  generally  found  amply 
sufficient  to  produce  the  requisite  changes  upon  the 
very  greenest  tobacco.  Such  tobacco,  however,  never 
can  be  made  of  fine  quality  by  any  process.  If  the 
tobacco  should  be  larger  or  smaller  than  the  size  un- 
der consideration,  the  temperatures  for  steaming 
should  be  increased  or  diminished  accordingly.  110 
degrees  I have  found  amply  sufficient  for  the  largest, 
and  80  for  the  smallest.  When  the  weather  is  cool 
and  windy,  scaffolding  such  tobacco  in  the  shade, 
(that  which  has  a green  color)  will  sometimes  prepare 

4 


29 


it  tolerably  for  the  requisite  changes,  as  well  as  cause 
it  to  lose  a great  deal  of  its  sap,  which  would  other- 
wise have  to  be  thrown  off  by  the  fire;  but,  on  account 
of  the  uncertainty  of  the  weather,  and  for  the  reasons 
before  given,  such  an  expedient  should  not  be  resort- 
ed to,  unless  made  necessary  by  a want  of  house 
room,  or  by  a pressure  of  business. 

When  the  color  of  the  tobacco,  at  the  time  it  is  cut, 
is  an  intermediate  one,  partaking  of  yellow  and  green, 
there  should  be  such  variations  in  the  application  of 
the  means  for  producing  the  requisite  changes  in  its 
properties,  as  will  correspond  to  its  approximation  in 
color  to  the  one  or  the  other.  When  it  is  consider- 
ably yellow,  it  requires  less  of  the  means  that  pro- 
duce re-action,  owing  to  its  greater  tendency  to  run 
into  that  state;  when  it  is  otherwise,  more  of  them. 
The  following  variations,  in  the  table  of  heat,  I have 
found  to  answer  well  for  the  intermediate  colors. 

When  the  tobacco  has  a very  slight  shade  of  yel- 
low, it  should  be  steamed  by  a temperature  of  100 
degrees,  or  thereabouts,  thirty  or  forty  hours,  or  until 
a visible  additional  yellowness  takes  place;  after 
which,  the  table  of  temperatures,  before  named,  should 
be  raised  upon  it. 

When  it  has  a rather  deeper  shade  than  the  one 
last  mentioned,  the  same  temperature  for  steaming 
should  be  raised  upon  it,  but  should  not  be  continued 
longer  than  from  twenty  to  thirty  hours,  before  the 
raising  of  the  table  of  heat. 


30 


When  the  shade  of  yellow  is  still  deeper,  the  period 
for  steaming  should  be  proportionably  shortened  be- 
fore the  appropriate  temperatures  are  raised. 

When  the  tobacco  is  extremely  yellow,  the  table  of 
heat  first  named  should  be  applied  in  the  manner  be- 
fore directed. 

When,  however,  it  shall  be  desirable  to  cure  any 
description  of  tobacco  with  a uniformly  reddish  or 
brownish  color,  its  properties  should  be  so  changed 
as  to  give  it  a deep  yellow  hue,  by  any  of  the  appro- 
priate means;  after  which,  it  should  be  dried  by  the 
temperatures  recommended.  Crowding,  and  expos- 
ing it  to  a temperature  of  80  or  90  degrees,  will  soon 
produce  that  state,  particularly  if  the  barn  floor  should 
be  made  damp  or  wet.  A wet  floor,  or  moist  atmos- 
phere, very  much  facilitates  its  tendency  to  yellow; 
but,  as  the  natural  juices  with  which  the  plant  is  im- 
pregnated, are  generally  sufficient  to  effect  that  state, 
the  wetting  should  not  be  resorted  to  unless  the  to- 
bacco should  be  very  green  when  cut,  as  in  other  res- 
pects it  is  objectionable.  When  it  has  thus  yellowed, 
some  of  its  shades  may  be  retained  for  a short  time  ' 
after  it  is  dried;  but  they  will  ultimately  be  lost  in  a 
reddish  or  brownish  color.  If,  after  yellowing,  in  this, 
or  any  other  manner,  to  the  extent  just  mentioned, 
the  tobacco  should  be  dried  by  very  low  temperatures, 
it  will  become  what  the  planter  calls  “ sour,  or  taint- 
ed,” and  have  a darkish  dingy  color,  with  coarse  fibre 


31 


and  swelled  texture.  The  additional  yellowing  of 
tobacco  that  has  matured  with  a yellow  color,  is,  I 
think,  a deeply  rooted  error,  that  has  done  much  mis- 
chief to  the  planter,  particularly  in  the  making  of  fine 
Virginia  chewing  tobacco.  Such  a change,  although 
the  first  visible  approach  towards  that  state  of  decom- 
position by  which  all  vegetable  matter  loses  its  dis- 
tinctive properties,  may  be  beneficial  to  tobacco  not 
fully  matured;  but  is,  I am  well  persuaded,  always  in- 
jurious to  that  in  an  opposite  state. 

If  the  tobacco  should  be  stored  away  in  the  house 
more  closely  than  I have  recommended,  there  should 
be  a slight  increase  in  the  temperatures  for  curing;  if 
more  thinly,  some  diminution.  When  it  is  hung  very 
closely,  it  requires  more  heat,  as  the  vapor  escapes 
from  it  with  more  difficulty;  and,  in  proportion  to  the 
quantity  to  be  thrown  off  in  a given  space,  will  be  the 
difficulty  of  attaining  particular  results — a fact  that 
should  teach  the  planter  never  to  let  his  tobacco  be 
caught  in  rain,  be  hung  very  closely,  or  be  exposed  to 
dews;  and  always  to  have  the  floor,  house,  and  wood,  as 
dry  as  possible,  except  when  otherwise  directed.  The 
vapor  arising  from  such  sources  will  be  more  or  less 
injurious  to  the  tobacco;  and  will  considerably  inter- 
fere with  the  raising  of  the  required  temperatures — a 
great  deal  of  the  heat  becoming  latent  by  entering  in- 
to a chemical  combination  with  it. 

If  the  tobacco  should  be  larger  or  smaller  than  the 


32 


size  under  consideration,  the  appropriate  variations 
should  be  made  in  the  temperatures  for  curing.  When 
it  is  larger,  the  intervals  between  the  various  points 
in  the  table  of  heat  should  be  contracted;  but  when 
it  is  smaller,  they  should  be  lengthened,  one,  two, 
three,  or  four  hours,  according  to  the  size  of  the  to- 
bacco. If  both  should  be  cured  under  the  same  pro- 
cess, the  large  or  the  small  tobacco  must  unavoida- 
bly sustain  an  injury;  they  should,  therefore,  be  sepa- 
rated, and  the  process  carried  on  in  distinct  houses. 

The  most  appropriate  time  for  this  separation  is 
when  cutting  or  hanging  the  tobacco  on  the  sticks.  The 
large  may  be  placed  between  the  rows  on  the  right, 
the  small  between  those  on  the  left,  and  the  middling 
size  in  the  centre.  By  this  little  trouble,  and  the  ne- 
cessary attention  to  the  laborers  who  hang  it  on  the 
sticks,  no  further  assortment  will  be  required,  even 
after  it  is  cured,  if  the  tobacco  shall  be  equally  good 
in  the  field;  and  each  may  get,  without  difficulty,  its 
appropriate  quantity  of  heat.  This  division,  or  sepa- 
ration of  the  tobacco  into  three  classes,  may  be  easily 
reduced  to  two,  and  sometimes  to  one,  by  dividing 
transversely,  or  splitting  the  largest  plants  into  two. 
If,  from  unavoidable  circumstances,  this  assortment 
cannot  be  made,  and  the  house  should  be  filled,  as  is 
commonly  the  case,  with  large  and  small  tobacco,  a 
medium  range  of  temperatures  for  curing  should  be 
resorted  to,  unless  the  planter  prefers  a partial  sacri- 


83 


fice  of  the  one  part,  for  the  benefit  of  the  other.  The 
time  of  cutting  will  also  be  the  most  suitable  one  for 
separating,  when  necessary,  the  yellow  from  the  green 
tobacco.  These  assortments,  however,  will  seldom 
be  necessary;  when  the  crop  is  tolerably  even,  and 
uniform  in  color,  no  such  trouble  need  be  incurred. 

“ The  difficulties  which  I have  aimed  to  remove 
are  such  as  have  resulted  from  the  empirical  mode 
in  which  tobacco  has  been  heretofore  cured,  the  con- 
sequence of  which  has  been,  that  the  quality  of  the 
article  produced  has  not  depended  upon  its  goodness 
when  cut,  but  upon  events  altogether  accidental;  no 
regular  system  having  been  pursued,  or  understood, 
nor,  indeed,  the  means  adopted  necessary  to  carry  such 
a system  into  effect. 

« The  principle  upon  which  I have  proceeded,  is, 
that,  whenever  a vegetable  substance  is  to  be  desiccated 
by  heat,  in  order  to  its  being  brought  into  a particular 
state,  there  is  a certain  period  of  time  within  the  limits 
of  which  the  process  must  be  effected,  or  a spontane- 
ous re-action  of  the  constituents  of  the  vegetable  will 
take  place,  which  re-action  must  necessarily  prevent 
the  attainment  of  the  end  proposed;  and  that  there 
are  certain  limits  of  temperatures,  above  or  below 
which  we  must  fail  in  inducing  the  desired  state. 
When  articles,  similar  in  their  properties,  are  subjected 
to  the  influences  of  circumstances  which  do  not  vary, 
the  result  may  be  predicted,  after  it  has  been  rigor- 
ously ascertained  in  a single  instance. 

5 


34 


“ The  means  which  I have  adopted  are  such  as 
were  intended,  and  which  experience  has  proved  to 
be  effectual,  to  place  within  my  reach  the  control  of 
those  circumstances  which  must  concur  in  producing 
the  end  at  which  I have  aimed,  namely,  the  develop- 
ment and  preservation  of  all  those  properties  in  the 
tobacco  plant,  which  give  to  it  its  highest  value  in  the 
market.”* 

* Extract  from  the  specification,  of  the  patent. 


35 


SECTION  III. 

The  management  of  the  tobacco  from  the  time  it  is  cured  until  deli- 
vered in  the  market. 

In  the  making  of  fine  Tobacco,  much  depends  upon 
a knowledge  of  this  branch  of  the  subject;  it  should, 
therefore,  be  well  understood;  and  command  the  most 
particular  attention. 

When  the  process  of  curing  is  ended,  the  door  and 
windows  should  be  opened  for  the  purpose  of  cooling 
the  house  and  putting  the  tobacco  in  a state  for  re- 
moval. If,  however,  there  should  be  need  of  removing 
it  quickly,  it  may  be  taken  out  dry,  or  the  barn  floor 
may  be  made  wet  with  water,  the  evaporation  from 
which  will  soften  it  in  a short  time  without  doing  it 
the  slightest  injury.  Such  vapor,  if  the  floor  shall  be 
cleared  of  all  decaying  matter,  is  as  pure  as  that 
which  is  derived  from  any  other  source. 

The  house  to  which  it  is  removed  should  be  open; 
the  tobacco,  if  it  is  dried  with  a green  or  greenish  color, 
should  be  stored  away  thinly,  and  should  thus  remain 
until  it  becomes  highly  saturated  with  moisture,  or,  in 
planters’  phrase,  “ high  in  order;”  after  which  it  may 
be  removed  elsewhere,  or  stored  away  more  thickly. 
When  it  is  thus  saturated  with  moisture,  and  the 


36 


weather  is  warm,  it  will  soon  lose  most  of  its  greenish 
color,  and  the  properties  of  the  plant  will  undergo 
changes  by  which  it  will  acquire  the  usual  scent  of 
tobacco.  Until  these  changes  take  place,  which  are 
produced  by  atmospherical  heat  and  moisture,  its 
smell  resembles  that  of  other  recently  dried  herbage; 
these  changes,  however,  may  be  produced  by  the  arti- 
ficial application  of  those  agents.  I have  frequently 
removed  the  green  color  of  very  green  tobacco,  when 
it  was  highly  saturated  with  moisture,  and  stored  away 
thickly  in  a tight  house,  by  drying  it  with  a tempera- 
ture of  90  or  100  degrees.  If  it  should  be  slightly 
bruised,  it  loses  its  green  color  still  more  rapidly. 
The  bruise,  although  it  very  much  darkens  its  color, 
seems  to  fix  its  oil,  and  renders  the  texture  and  woody 
fibre  of  the  leaf  much  less  destructible.  The  atmos- 
phere, however,  with  its  heat  and  moisture,  will  ge- 
nerally be  sufficient  to  effect  the  necessary  changes 
upon  cured  tobacco. 

When  the  tobacco  is  dried  with  a reddish,  a dark- 
ish, or  yellow  color,  it  should  be  managed  differently; 
it  should  then  be  removed  to  a tight  house,  stored  away 
thickly,  or  laid  into  bulk  as  soon  as  practicable.  If 
it  is  afterwards  much  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the 
atmosphere  and  its^  moisture,  the  texture  of  the  leaf 
will  be  weakened^  much  of  its  volatile  property  will 
be  lost,  the  reddish  and  darkish  colors  will  increase, 
and  the  yellow  one  will  be  lost  in  a pale  mahogany 


37 


red.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  to  hear  the  plan- 
ter, early  in  the  fall,  boast  of  his  fine  yellow  or  yellow- 
ish piebald  tobacco,  and  in  the  ensuing  winter  or 
spring,  complain  that  it  has  all  become  reddish  or  dark- 
ish. The  quantity  of  moisture  that  will  be  necessary 
for  placing  reddish,  darkish,  or  yellow  tobacco,  in  bulk, 
for  “ stripping”  or  packing  in  the  hogshead,  will  be 
amply  sufficient  to  effect  all  the  changes  in  its  proper- 
ties which  it  may  be  desirable  to  produce.  If,  how- 
ever, tobacco  with  these  colors  shall  have  been  dried 
by  open  fires,  or  flues  which  admitted  to  it  all  the 
vapors  arising  from  the  combustion,  it  will  be  better 
to  let  it  hang  longer  in  the  barn  than  I have  recom- 
mended; the  atmosphere  lessens,  in  a very  slight  de- 
gree, the  injury  done  by  those  vapors.  I will  here 
make  a short  digression,  and  speak  more  particularly 
of  these  effects. 

When  all  the  products  of  the  combustion  are  ad- 
mitted to  the  tobacco,  it  has  a strong  acrid  taste  or 
smell,  which  is  generally  denominated  by  the  planter, 
“ the  taste  or  smell  of  smoke,”  and  is  believed  by  him 
to  be  the  effect  of  that  vapor;  the  opinion,  however, 
is  incorrect.  The  smoke  or  soot  deposited  on  the 
tobacco  may  be  brushed  or  washed  off,  in  the  most 
effectual  manner,  and  yet  the  strong  acrid  taste  or  smell 
will  exist.  The  whole  of  the  smoke  may  be  con- 
sumed, by  flues  constructed  for  that  purpose,  and  it 
will  still  remain.  (A  flue  whose  draught  has  its  exit 


38 


into  the  house,  and  passes  through  a metallic  pipe, 
heated  to  redness  by  another  flue,  will  effectually  con- 
sume the  smoke.)  This  strong  acrid  taste  or  smell 
is  produced  by  the  pyroligneous  acid,  which  is  evolved 
with  the  smoke  in  the  first  stage  of  the  combustion; 
it  insinuates  itself  into,  and  alters  the  properties  of, 
the  tobacco,  chemically  or  otherwise,  and  is  difficult 
to  be  removed  by  any  process.  When  this  pyrolig- 
neous acid  is  excluded  from  the  tobacco,  and  carbonic 
acid,  which  escapes  during  the  latter  stage  of  the 
combustion,  is  admitted,  its  taste  and  smell  are  very 
different;  its  flavor  is  then  very  fine,  and,  perhaps,  in 
all  respects,  equal  to,  if  not  better,  than  the  flavor  of 
tobacco  from  which  the  whole  of  the  products  of  the 
combustion  are  excluded.  These  vapors  have  little, 
if  any  thing,  to  do  with  the  preservation  of  tobacco; 
its  oil,  or,  in  planters’  phrase,  “ its  strength,”  is  its 
principal  preservative  property.  This  I have  ascer- 
tained by  ample  experience.  “The  richer  the  to- 
bacco, the  better  it  will  keep,”  is  a well  settled  maxim 
among  the  planters. 

When  the  leaf  is  pliant,  and  most  of  the  stem  un- 
yielding, the  tobacco  is  then  in  a suitable  state  for 
bulking,  “ stripping,”  or  prizing.  The  “ stripping,” 
however,  may  be  done  whilst  the  tobacco  is  in  higher 
“ order,”  or  before  it  is  bulked;  but,  generally,  it  will 
be  found  most  convenient  to  do  it  afterwards.  A 
house,  of  the  following  description,  I have  found  to 


39 


answer  well  for  bulking,  and  it  will  very  much  lessen 
the  expense  of  barn  building:  The  house  I have  used 
is  thirty  feet  long,  eight  wide,  ten  deep  in  the  body, 
and  built  of  logs;  the  roof  is  of  slabs  or  planks,  and 
made  very  tight  by  dirt  or  straw  put  on,  or  in  it;  a 
door  in  one  end,  with  a shutter  fitting  very  tight,  and 
the  whole,  when  finished,  as  nearly  air  proof  as  such 
a building  can  be  easily  made;  within  it  is  a suitable 
scaffold,  a foot  from  the  floor,  for  bulking  the  tobacco 
on.  Such  a house  will  be  found  very  useful  and  con- 
venient in  the  management  of  the  crop,  and  will  pre- 
serve much  of  the  valuable  properties  of  the  tobacco 
which  would  otherwise  be  lost. 

When  the  tobacco  is  placed  in  bulk,  the  next  thing 
to  be  attended  to  is  the  “ stripping,”  or  the  removal 
of  the  leaves  from  the  stalks  for  the  purpose  of  being 
tied  into  bundles.  The  bundles  should  contain  about 
six  or  eight  leaves;  the  leaves  in  each  should  be  as 
nearly  of  a length  and  color  as  possible,  and  the  various 
sizes  and  colors  should  be  kept  to  themselves.  The 
yellow  should  constitute  one  class  of  bundles,  the  pie- 
bald another,  the  red  and  dark  the  third.  If  the  crop, 
however,  should  be  first  rate  in  the  field,  and  cured  in 
the  best  manner,  these  assortments  will  not  be  needed; 
all  the  inferior  will  be  required  to  tie  up  the  good 
tobacco.  In  such  a house  as  I have  just  described, 
the  “ stripping”  can  be  carried  on  at  any  period  of  the 
winter.  The  tobacco  may  be  kept  soft  by  wetting 


40 


the  floor  and  raising  a temperature  in  the  house,  by 
flues  or  otherwise,  of  50  or  60  degrees;  and  the  ne- 
cessary assortments  can  be  made  by  admitting  light 
through  a small  glass  window.  By  heat  and  moisture, 
thus  created,  the  planter  may  make  his  own  seasons, 
produce  all  those  changes  upon  the  properties  of  the 
tobacco  which  have  been  before  mentioned,  and  might, 
possibly,  by  a more  extensive  application  of  them, 
prepare  the  article  quickly  for  consumption.  The 
principal  art  in  manufacturing  chewing  tobacco  con- 
sists in  the  proper  application  of  these  agents,  heat 
and  moisture.  When  the  manufacturer  puts  his  to- 
bacco under  press  with  too  much  moisture  in  it,  those 
agents  produce  incipient  putrefaction,  known  most 
commonly  by  the  names,  “ mould  or  funk,”  which 
entirely  destroys  the  article  as  a luxury;  when  he  puts 
it  under  with  too  little  moisture  in  it,  the  heat  and 
moisture  fail  to  produce,  in  due  time,  that  change  in 
its  properties  which  is  necessary  to  correct  its  objec- 
tionably acrid  and  bitter  taste;  but,  when  he  puts  it 
under  with  the  proper  quantity  of  moisture  in  it,  and 
the  necessary  heat  is  applied,  this  change  quickly 
takes  place,  and  the  tobacco  is  soon  ready  for  the 
market.  It  is  this  change  in  its  properties,  produced 
by  atmospherical  or  artificial  heat  and  moisture,  and 
not  by  age,  which  gives  to  chewing  tobacco  its  fine 
quality. 

When  the  “ stripping”  is  finished,  the  tobacco 
should  be  rebulked;  the  bulk  should  be  heavily 


41 


weighted,  and  its  sides  protected  well  from  drying 
weather  by  a tight  house  or  some  suitable  covering; 
after  which  the  prizing  may  be  done  at  any  convenient 
time.  . * 

There  is  no  particular  art  in  packing  or  putting  the 
tobacco  into  the  hogshead;  it  should,  however,  be 
placed  straight,  distributed  equally,  and  not  pressed 
very  hard.  Hard  pressing  causes  the  leaves  to  adhere 
so  closely  as  to  render  the  stemming  difficult,  and  is 
thus  far  objectionable.  It  perhaps  does  no  injury  to 
the  quality  of  the  tobacco,  particularly  if  it  is  intended 
for  chewing,  but  most  probably  improves  it.  The 
effect  of  the  press,  in  combination  with  the  agents 
before  mentioned,  heat  and  moisture , in  improving 
the  quality  of  tobacco,  is  fully  shown  by  a com- 
parison of  its  opposite  states.  When  it  goes  into 
the  hands  of  the  skilful  manufacturer,  it  may  be 
but  ordinary,  and  almost  unfit  for  use;  but,  when  it 
comes  out,  it  is  frequently  of  excellent  quality;  the 
pressing  is,  therefore,  not  objectionable,  except  as  re- 
gards the  adhesion  of  the  leaves.  The  hogsheads 
should  contain,  if  intended  for  the  Virginia  market, 
1,400  to  1,600  lbs.;  and  the  prizing  may  be  carried  on 
in  any  kind  of  weather,  even  in  the  winter,  if  the 
planter  is  prepared  with  suitable  houses  for  such  busi- 
ness. It  will  be  found  best,  however,  to  select  that 
which  is  warm  or  moist.  When  the  winter  is  ex- 
6 


42 


tremely  cold  and  dry,  it  will  be  most  convenient  to 
postpone  the  prizing  until  the  ensuing  spring. 

After  the  crop  is  prized  and  delivered  in  the  mar- 
ket, the  time  at  which  it  should  be  opened,  or  exposed 
to  sale,  should  next  claim  the  planter’s  attention.  If 
his  tobacco  is  very  reddish,  very  darkish,  or  very  yel- 
low, the  ensuing  April  or  May  will  be  a suitable  pe- 
riod; very  nearly  all  the  improvement  in  appearance 
of  which  such  tobacco  is  susceptible,  will  have  taken 
place  by  that  time,  particularly  when  it  is  put  into  the 
hogshead  in  sufficiently  soft  order.  If,  however,  these 
colors  should  be  considerably  interspersed  with  shades 
of  green,  it  will  be  better,  generally,  to  postpone  the 
time  of  selling  until  the  next  summer,  or  fall.  By  that 
time,  the  shades  of  green,  which  are  now  objection- 
able with  many  tobacco  merchants,  will  be  lost  in  . a 
yellow,  a yellowish,  or  darkish  color,  according  to  the 
particular  state  of  the  tobacco  at  the  time  it  was  cut; 
and  its  taste  and  smell  will  be  very  much  improved. 
This  change  in  color,  &c.  is  effected  by  what  the  to- 
bacco merchant  calls  “ sweating,”  which  is  but  ano- 
ther name  for  that  mutual  action  of  the  constituents 
of  the  tobacco  upon  each  other,  before  spoken  of,  pro- 
duced by  the  summer’s  heat  acting  upon  its  moisture. 
The  improvement  in  such  tobacco,  after  prized,  by 
this  “ sweating,”  or  mutual  action  of  its  properties, 
produced  by  heat  and  moisture,  is  obvious  to  every 
observing  tobacco  merchant.  For  the  want  of  this 


43 


knowledge,  however,  on  the  part  of  a number  of  them, 
it  frequently  happens  that  the  article  is  considered 
inferior,  sells  for  a low  price  in  the  winter,  or  spring, 
and  afterwards  commands  the  very  highest;  I would, 
therefore,  advise  the  planter  not  to  sell  his  crop  pre- 
maturely. If  the  hogsheads  which  contain  it  are  well 
dried  and  very  tight,  which  should  always  be  the  case, 
no  fear  need  be  entertained  about  its  safe  keeping. 

In  concluding  this  section,  it  will  be  proper  to  ob- 
serve, that  the  management  which  I have  recommend- 
ed, is  intended  particularly  for  the  Virginia  planter, 
and  those  of  most  of  the  Western  States.  In  the 
States  of  Maryland,  Ohio,  and  other  places,  the  ma- 
nagement required,  after  curing,  is  very  different.  In 
those  States  the  tobacco  is  prized  in  very  dry  order, 
and  the  hogsheads  made  to  weigh  not  more  than  from 
600  to  800  lbs.  Their  tobacco  is  intended  princi- 
pally for  smoking  and  snuffing,  and,  therefore,  requires 
a different  management;  the  principle,  however,  for 
curing  such  tobacco,  is  precisely  the  same. 


44 


SECTION  IV. 

The  Cultivation. 

This,  as  well  as  the  preceding  branch  of  the  sub- 
ject, is  important  to  the  planter.  Unless  his  tobacco 
shall  be  of  good  quality  in  the  field,  it  never  can  be 
made  so  afterwards  by  any  management,  or  process 
of  curing;  the  cultivation  should,  therefore,  be  well 
understood. 

Having  had  but  a short  period  for  observation  and 
experiment  upon  this  part  of  the  subject,  I can  say  but 
little  practically  about  it:  but,  as  it  is  a subject  full  of 
contingencies,  owing  to  its  dependence  upon  the  va- 
rious soils  and  seasons,  it  becomes  a fit  one  for  spe- 
culation, and  it  will  be  considered,  almost  entirely, 
in  that  way.  Before,  however,  entering  into  its  de- 
tails, it  will  be  proper  to  premise,  that  every  planter 
should  make  himself  well  acquainted  with  the  parti- 
cular market  for  which  his  tobacco  is  destined  before 
he  adopts  any  particular  mode  of  cultivation;  this  he 
should  even  do  as  regards  curing.  Having  this  know- 
ledge, which  may  be  easily  obtained  through  his  com- 
mission merchant,  he  may  vary  his  cultivation  and 
curing  according  to  the  requirements  of  that  market. 
This  information  I consider  important,  as  the  demand 


45 


for  particular  qualities  of  tobacco  is  more  or  less  va- 
rying every  year.  The  planter’s  object  is  gain;  and 
if  even  such  tobacco  as  he  may  consider  inferior, 
should  command  the  highest  price,  his  aim  should  be 
to  produce  it. 

Among  the  first  things  that  will  claim  the  planter’s 
care,  in  the  cultivation,  is  the  preparation,  or  seeding, 
of  his  plant  beds.  The  soil  that  should  be  selected 
for  them  should  be  rich,  moist,  and  as  dense  as  can 
be  obtained;  close  land  should  be  greatly  preferred  to 
that  which  is  porous.  It  should  be  sufficiently  burnt 
to  keep  down  the  spontaneous  herbage;  the  ground 
should  be  well  broken  whilst  it  is  dry,  and  the  seed 
sown.  A table  spoonful,  or  rather  more,  to  every 
thirty  feet  square,  is  generally  a sufficient  quantity. 
The  most  suitable  time  for  preparing  and  sowing,  is 
in  the  month  of  January  and  February;  when  the  land 
is  dry.  Early  and  plentiful  sowing  should  always  be 
preferred;  the  success  of  the  crop  is  necessarily  de- 
pendent upon  the  success  of  raising  plants.  Covering 
the  beds  is  thought  to  be  necessary  by  some  planters, 
but,  by  others,  not.  My  own  opinion  is,  that  it  is  as 
often  injurious  as  beneficial.  If  the  land  should  not 
be  very  rich,  manuring  before  or  after  the  seed  is 
sown,  will  be  advantageous.  The  kind  of  seed  which 
the  planter  ought  to  sow,  must  depend  entirely  upon 
the  description  of  tobacco  which  he  may  wish  to  make. 
If  he  purposes  to  make  very  yellow  tobacco,  he  should 


46 


select  the  seed  from  that  kind;  if  very  dark  tobacco, 
his  selection  should  be  made  from  that  description 
which  has  the  least  tendency  to  yellow  in  the  field. 
The  difference,  however,  in  the  various  kinds  in  that 
respect  is  not  very  considerable.  Either  may  be  made 
to  yellow  more  or  less,  by  proper  cultivation.  Seed 
that  is  sown  at  the  time  and  in  the  manner  I have 
recommended,  will  generally  produce  a sufficiency  of 
plants,  of  full  size,  to  set  the  crop  in  good  season. 
From  the  first  to  the  last  of  May  will  be  found  the 
best  time  for  transplanting,  though  later  or  earlier 
sometimes  answers  well.  Very  early  transplanting, 
however,  I have  found  sometimes  objectionable. 
When  the  spring  is  very  cool,  the  plants  vegetate 
slowly,  or,  in  planters’  phrase;  “start  very" badly.” 
When  this  is  the  case,  a more  vigorous  growth  may 
be  given  to  them  by  transplanting  the  same  plants  in 
the  same  hills. 

The  preparation  of  the  field  in  which  the  crop  is  to 
be  grown,  should,  like  the  selection  of  the  seed,  de- 
pend upon  the  quality  of  the  tobacco  sought  to  be 
made,  and,  in  some  degree,  upon  the  character  of  the 
soil.  If  the  land  should  be  old  and  very  rich,  and  the 
planter  should  wish  to  make  large  long-leaf  tobacco, 
with  coarse  fibre  and  texture,  heavy  and  gross  in  its 
properties,  he  should  prepare  his  land  well  by  deep 
ploughing,  plant  the  tobacco  three  and  a half  or  four 
feet  apart,  in  the  hillfe,  prime  it  high  enough  to  se- 


47 


\ 


cure  the  bottom  leaves  from  dirt,  top  it  to  eight  or 
ten  leaves,  and  as  early  as  the  plant  will  bear  it;  keep 
the  field  clear  of  grass  and  weeds,  the  ground  well 
broken,  as  long  as  the  tobacco  will  afford  room  for 
doing  so,  and  select  such  tobacco  as  is  known  to  grow 
largest,  and  has  the  least  tendency  to  yellow  in  the 
field,  ff  the  season  should  prove  favorable  to  tobac- 
co thus  cultivated,  it  will  grow  very  large,  and  yield 
abundantly  in  weight  to  the  planter;  but  never  can  be 
made  of  that  quality  which  is  now  considered  fine. 
If  the  season,  however,  should  prove  to  be  dry,  the 
tobacco  will  be  much  smaller  and  finer  in  its  texture; 
it  will  also  be  apt  to  acquire  a yellow  color;  and  un- 
less the  drought  should  be  an  excessive  one,  it  may 
be  made  of  a better  quality  than  when  it  is  grown  to 
a very  large  size.  But  if  the  season  should  prove  to 
be  very  wet,  which  is  frequently  the  case,  the  crop  will 
sustain  a serious  injury  under  such  a mode  of  culti- 
vation. The  tobacco  will  grow  rapidly,  become  sur- 
charged with  sap,  and  before  it  can  arrive  to  maturity, 
contract  the  disease,  in  planters’  phrase  called  the 
“ spot  or  firing.”  Such  luxuriancy  has  never  failed, 
so  far  as  my  observation  has  extended,  to  produce 
more  or  less  of  this  disease.  When  it  has  passed  into 
this  state,  it  must  come  to  the  knife,  whether  ripe  or 
green,  and  can  never  be  made  of  any  other  than  the 
most  inferior  quality.  If  the  season,  however,  should 
be  so  very  wet  as  to  produce  “ drowning,”  and,  of 


48 


course,  a diseased  yellow  color,  the  tobacco  should 
be  cut,  if  it  has  much  size,  as  quickly  as  possible,  and 
exposed  to  the  proper  temperatures  for  drying  it; 
when  it  has  passed  into  this  state  it  is  not  susceptible 
of  further  improvement.  If  it  should  be  dried  well, 
its  texture  will  be  fine,  fibres  small,  the  leaf  thin,  and 
transparent,  extremely  yellow,  ivith  but  little  strength, 
though  well  flavored.  Such  tobacco  will  command 
a high  price  for  smoking,  and  should  not  be  discard- 
ed from  the  crop,  as  has  hitherto  been  done  in  Vir- 
ginia. It  should  be  prized  lightly,  and  as  dry  as  pos- 
sible, without  crumbling.  The  luxuriancy  just  men- 
tioned, and  its  consequences,  when  anticipated,  may 
be  very  much  controlled  and  lessened  by  suffering  the 
suckers  to  remain  on  the  plant  a longer  time  than  is 
usual;  they  will  act  as  exhausters,  by  imbibing  in  part 
the  juices  of  the  plant,  and  must,  consequently,  very 
much  diminish  its  tendency  to  disease;  but  if,  after- 
wards, the  planter  s speculations  upon  the  w'eather 
shall  induce  him  to  believe  that  the  season  will  be 
dry,  the  suckers  should  be  quickly  removed.  These 
speculations  should  be  indulged  more  or  less  through- 
out the  whole  cultivation,  though  more  particularly  in 
relation  to  the  topping. 

Should  the  planter  wish  to  make  large  yellow'  to- 
bacco, he  must  select  such  as  has  the  strongest  ten- 
dency to  yellow  in  the  field,  and  which  grows  to  a 
large  size,  and  cultivate  it  in  the  manner  recommend- 


49 


for  the  foregoing;  with  the  exceptions  of  topping  it 
two  or  three  leaves  higher,  and  working  the  land  less 
after  the  tobacco  has  acquired  much  size.  Late 
working,  particularly  if  succeeded  by  a rain,  gives 
new  resources  to  the  growth  of  the  plant,  and  is  too 
apt  to  produce  that  morbid  luxuriancy,  and  its  conse- 
quences, before  mentioned;  it  but  seldom  fails  to  pre- 
vent yellowing,  so  indispensable  to  the  making  of  the 
kind  of  tobacco  under  consideration.  The  soil  should 
not  be  broken  after  the  tobacco  has  pretty  well  covered 
the  hill.  The  grass  and  weeds,  which  may  be  likely 
afterwards  to  interfere  with  its  growth,  may  be  scrap- 
ed off  in  the  lightest  manner.  By  this  mode  of  culti- 
vation, the  planter  will  seldom  fail  in  producing  the 
yellow  color,  particularly  if  the  land  is  well  suited  to 
the  tobacco,  and  the  plant  should  possess  the  slight- 
est inherent  tendency  to  that  state.  This  mode,  how- 
ever, will  probably  be  objected  to,  from  a belief  that 
the  plant  will  be  poor,  and  never  acquire  sufficient 
size;  my  experience  and  observation  compel  me  to 
think  otherwise.  I have  known  plants  to  spring  up 
as  if  they  were  spontaneous,  grow  luxuriantly,  and 
to  a large  size,  even  when  very  much  shaded,  without 
having,  at  any  period,  a particle  of  soil  stirred  around 
them.  Such  facts  prove  the  strong  adaptation  of  the 
American  soil  to  tobacco — the  one  in  which  it  is  in- 
digenous— and  suggest  the  probability,  that  it  requires 
much  less  aid  from  cultivation  than  is  generally  sup- 
7 


50 


posed;  when  it  is  in  its  natural  soil,  few  plants  are 
more  tenacious  of  life,  or  more  capable  of  self-pre- 
servation; its  broad  and  long  leaves  protect  the  soil 
from  which  it  is  supported,  keep  it  moist  and  soft,  and 
render  it,  when  the  plant  has  attained  much  size,  un- 
productive of  the  ordinary  spontaneous  herbage.  The 
following  experiments  in  the  cultivation  give  addi- 
tional weight  to  this  suggestion,  particularly  as  re- 
gards the  cultivation  of  light,  porous,  new  land. 

In  the  year  1806  I had  about  200  tobacco  hills, 
made  upon  land  which  had  never  before  been  culti- 
vated; the  ground  was  well  broken,  all  the  roots 
removed,  the  tobacco  then  planted  and  cultivated  in 
what,  in  Virginia,  is  called  the  best  manner.  The  soil 
was  kept  light,  and  clear  of  grass  and  weeds,  through- 
out the  season.  In  a similar  soil,  and  exactly  by  the 
side  of  the  former,  I bad  small  beds,  or  chops,  made, 
a little  exceeding,  in  circumference,  the  size  of  a com- 
mon hat.  They  were  very  little  elevated  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  and  were  about  three  feet  and  a 
half  apart.  The  hills  just  mentioned  were  also  about 
the  same  distance  apart;  and  the  whole,  the  hills  and 
beds,  were  planted  on  the  same  day.  The  number 
of  beds  800.  The  latter  had  two  workings,  and  the 
tobacco,  in  other  respects,  was  managed  like  that  in 
the  former.  The  first  working  of  the  tobacco  in  the 
beds,  consisted  in  drawing  a small  quantity  of  dirt  to 
the  plant,  from  the  unbroken  ground  between  the 


51 


rows.  The  second  and  last  working,  consisted  in  the 
same  operation,  though  more  extensive.  By  these 
two  Workings,  all  the  unbroken  land  was  stirred.  The 
last  one  was  given  about  the  time,  or  a little  before, 
the  tobacco  came  into  the  top,  and  before  its  roots 
could  meet  with  much  resistance  from  the  unbroken 
soil.  That  which  was  in  the  beds  grew  off  somewhat 
faster  than  that  in  the  hills,  owing,  probably,  to  its  be- 
ing nearer  to  the  surface  of  the  ground,  from  which  it 
imbibed  moisture  more  rapidly  than  that  in  the  hills; 
but  when  each*  arrived  at  maturity,  there  was  so  little 
difference  between  them  in  size,  color,  &c.  that  the 
one  could  not  easily  be  distinguished  from  the  other. 
The  experiment  was  renewed  in  the  subsequent  year, 
and  followed  by  the  same  result.  By  the  ordinary 
mode  of  cultivating  new  land,  it  is  broken  several 
times,  and  all  the  roots  removed  before  the  hills 
are  made.  By  the  mode  of  beds,  much  of  that 
labor  is  saved,  and  the  land  less  exposed  to  injury 
from  hard  rains,  and  the  exhausting  influence  of 
the  sun.  If  the  roots  and  litter  of  the  forest  were 
suffered  to  remain,  and  thq  land  broken  only  as  the 
roots  of  the  tobacco  require  it,  many  of  these  injuries 
would  be  prevented.  The  principal  objection,  per- 
haps, to  cultivating  new  land  in  this  manner,  is,  that  it 
requires  much  more  labor  after  the  crop  is  planted, 
and  its  principal  recommendation,  that  it  requires 
much  less  before  it  is  planted.  It  will,  at  least,  suit 


52 


such  planters  as  may  want  time  to  prepare  their  land 
in  the  ordinary  way.  The  roots  and  decaying  mat- 
ter in  the  new  land,  will,  in  some  degree,  perform  the 
offices  of  the  plough,  as  well  as  afford  nourishment  to 
the  crop;  they  keep  the  soil  light  and  porous,  and  al- 
ways in  a state  to  receive  and  give  out  moisture. 
This  mode  of  cultivation  is  worthy  of  further  trial. 

If,  on  very  rich  land,  whether  old  or  new,  the  plant- 
er should  wish  to  make  short  leaf  yellow  tobacco,  his 
mode  of  cultivation  should  be  widely  different  from 
that  recommended  for  the  other  descriptions.  The 
tobacco  selected  for  cultivation  should  be  such  as  has 
naturally  the  smallest  leaf,  stem,  and  fibre,  and  will 
yellow  easily  in  the  field.  It  should  be  planted  about 
three  feet  apart,  and  in  tolerably  high  hills,  worked 
but  little,  and  that  very  early,  topped  high,  and  'prim- 
ed, so  as  to  secure  it  from  dirt.  The  topping  is 
much  the  most  delicate  part  of  the  cultivation.  If  the 
plant  should  be  very  luxuriant,  so  much  so  as  to  make 
it  probable  that  it  will  attain  too  much  size  and  gross- 
ness, it  should  be  suffered  to  blossom,  or  nearly  ap- 
proach that  state,  before  the  bud  is  taken  out.  From 
ten  to  sixteen  leaves  will  embrace  the  various  sizes, 
after  the  plant  is  primed ; and  the  bud  that  is  taken 
out  should  always  be  a large  one,  even  if  it  reduces 
the  plant  to  a less  number  of  leaves  than  is  recom- 
mended. By  suffering  the  plant  to  remain  until  such 
a bud  can  be  procured,  its  watery  properties  will  be 


53 


less  abundant,  the  leaves  will  be  further  apart,  or,  in 
planters’  phrase,  the  stalk  will  become  “ long  jointed;” 
they  will  be  small,  have  a fine  texture,  and  will  sel- 
dom fail,  if  the  season  is  tolerable,  to  acquire  that 
yellowness  and  maturity  which  is  all-important  to  the 
good  quality  of  the  article.  The  leaves  of  the  plant 
will  stand  more  erect  than  when  topped  otherwise, 
and  seem  much  impoverished,  though,  perhaps,  not 
really  be  so.  Such  tobacco,  when  it  is  dried  and  ma- 
naged in  the  best  manner,  seldom  fails  to  command  a 
very  high  price.  After  such  topping,  however,  if  the 
season  should  become  very  dry,  and  the  plant  not  like- 
ly to  sustain  itself,  as  many  of  the  top  leaves  as  may 
seem  necessary  should  be  taken  off,  when  the  laborers 
are  removing  the  suckers,  or  making  the  subsequent 
toppings.  The  removal  of  the  top  leaves  should 
always  be  preferred  to  those  on  the  bottom;  they  are 
smaller,  equally,  or  more,  convenient,  and  more  re- 
mote from  maturity.  A belief  that  such  topping  will 
retard  maturation,  and  expose  the  crop  to  the  hazard 
of  frost,  may,  perhaps,  be  urged  as  an  objection  to 
this  procedure.  A short  experience  induces  me  to 
think  otherwise.  The  difference  in  the  period  of  time 
required  for  the  ripening  of  that  which  is  topped,  by 
the  removal  of  a large  bud,  and  that  which  is  topped 
by  the  removal  of  a small  one,  is  too  inconsiderable  to 
make  it  a matter  of  any  consequence.  The  small  bud 
may  be  removed  a week  sooner  than  the  large  one, 


54 


and  yet  the  plant  losing  the  large  one  will  come  to 
the  knife  as  soon,  or  very  nearly  so,  as  the  other: 
this  I have  ascertained  by  repeated  experiments. 
How  such  topping  produces  such  an  effect  is  not 
easily  explained;  nor  is  the  knowledge  of  it  of  any 
consequence  to  the  planter,  so  that  the  fact  be  clearly 
ascertained.  The  complicated  operations  of  nature, 
in  relation  to  the  growth  and  production  of  vegetable 
matter,  are  too  little  understood  to  afford  an  explana- 
tion. The  greater  facility  with  which  such  tobacco  re- 
ceives the  air,  light,  heat,  and  moisture,  and  with 
which  it  parts  with  its  watery  property,  is  most  pro- 
bably the  cause.  Such  tobacco  produces  but  few 
suckers,  and,  consequently,  the  labor  of  cultivation  is 
very  much  lessened.  Unfortunately  for  the  art  of  grow- 
ing fine  tobacco,  too  many  of  its  cultivators  entertain 
the  opinion  that  it  should  be  grown  very  large,  have 
long,  broad,  thick  leaves,  overflowing  with  sap,  and  of 
a deep  green  color,  or  very  nearly  so,  when  it  is 
brought  to  the  knife;  forgetting  that  all  this  redundan- 
cy must  be  thrown  off  by  the  process  of  drying,  and 
that  the  plant  is  to  be  left  a mere  skeleton  of  stalk, 
stem,  and  fibre.  Such  tobacco,  when  dried,  is  coarse, 
porous,  badly  flavored,  and  has  but  little  essential  oil; 
the  alkaline  property  is  much  more  abundant,  and  the 
tobacco,  thus  far,  objectionable.  The  principles  re- 
commended for  the  cultivation  of  rich  land,  old  or 
new,  will,  by  making  corresponding  variations,  be  ap- 


55 


plicable  to  all  the  different  grades  of  soil.  When  the 
soil  is  poor,  the  topping  should  be  lower,,  and  the 
working  of  the  ground  more  considerable.  A close, 
dense  soil,  although  it  may  be  rich,  requires  much 
more  stirring  and  labor  than  one  in  an  opposite  state. 

If  the  planter  should  wish  to  cultivate  his  crop  in 
such  a manner  as  to  make  smoking  tobacco,  he  should 
very  nearly  reverse  the  method  recommended  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  large,  dark,  or  yellow  tobacco.  He 
should  select  such  as  is  known  to  contain  the  smallest 
quantity  of  oil  when  it  is  matured,  which  grows  rapid- 
ly, yellows  speedily,  and  has  a fine  fibre  and  texture. 
He  should  crowd  it  in  the  field,  top  it  very  high,  not 
prime  it  at  all,  work  it  very  little  indeed,  particular- 
ly after  it  has  acquired  much  size,  and  cut  it  as  soon 
as  it  has  attained  full  growth  and  sufficient  yellow- 
ness, without  regard  to  further  maturity.  If  the  land 
should  be  very  rich,  and  likely  to  grow  the  tobacco  so 
luxuriantly  as  to  prevent  it  from  yellowing,  it  should 
not  be  worked  at  all  after  the  tobacco  has  pretty  well 
covered  the  hills.  When  it  is  thus  left  to  struggle 
with  the  weeds  and  grass,  the  necessary  yellowing  is 
more  apt  to  be  produced.  I have  been  informed  by 
a gentleman  of  intelligence  residing  in  the  State  of 
Ohio,  and  who  is  a large  dealer  in  the  article,  that  it 
is  by  this  mode  of  cultivation  that  thejr  finest  yellow 
tobacco  is  grown,  particularly  when  it  is  planted  on 
new  land.  Such  tobacco,  when  it  is  well  cured,  and 


56 


afterwards  properly  managed,  commands,  in  the  Bal- 
timore market,  a very  high  price.  The  tobacco  is 
generally  known  by  the  name  of  the  Maryland  yellow 
kite-foot.  If  the  season,  however,  should  be  unfavor- 
able, and  the  tobacco  not  likely  to  become  sufficiently 
yellow  before  it  acquires  too  much  strength  and  coarse- 
ness, it  should  be  cut  in  its  green  state.  When  it  is 
cut  in  this  state,  and  afterwards  yellowed  by  the  ap- 
propriate means,  it  may  be  dried  with  a bright  red- 
dish color,  and  made  to  command  a good  price  in  a 
smoking  market.  Those  whose  crops  are  likely  to 
be  taken  by  trost,  would  do  well  to  adopt  such  an  al- 
ternative. L nder  this  mode  of  cultivation,  the  objects 
to  be  attained  are,  to  grow  the  tobacco  with  as  little 
strength,  or  oil,  as  possible,  to  give  it  a deep  yellow 
colof,  a fine  texture,  and  small  stem  and  fibre.  When, 
however,  tobacco  is  intended  for  other  purposes  than 
smoking,  particularly  for  chewing,  its  state  of  matu- 
rity should  be  widely  different  from  that  just  men- 
tioned: it  should  not  only  be  ripe,  and  arrive  to  its 
extreme  growth,  but  it  should  remain  in  the  field  un- 
til most  of  its  watery  property  is  lost.  When  tobacco 
is  well  matured,  the  leaf  will  be  more  transparent  than 
when  it  is  otherwise,  somewhat  brittle,  a little  uneven 
upon  its  surface,  and  the  whole  plant  will  have,  in 
some  degree,  the  appearance  of  wasting.  Yellowness, 
closeness  of  texture,  a loss  of  the  downy  surface  of 
the  leaf,  and  transparency,  are  the  best  evidences  of 


V 


57 

full  maturity.  When  the  plant  is  in  this  state,  its  pro- 
perties are  well  proportioned,  and  it  is  susceptible  of 
being  dried  of  a fine  quality.  If  it  shall  be  cut  be- 
fore much  of  its  watery  property  is  lost,  the  process 
of  drying  will  be  much  more  difficult,  and  perhaps 
some  of  its  valuable  properties  will  be  thrown  off  with 
its  vapor,  which  would  otherwise  be  retained.  It 
should,  therefore,  instead  of  acquiring  weight,  or,  in 
planters’  phrase,  “ be  gaining,”  always  be  losing  it  at 
the  time  it  is  cut.  When  it  is  redundant  with  juices, 
or  watery  matter,  its  properties  are  badly  proportion- 
ed; and  I am  fully  convinced,  from  ample  experience, 
that  such  tobacco  can  never  be  made  of  fine  quality. 
The  remarks  which  have  been  made  in  relation  to  the 
cultivation  of  smoking  tobacco,  are  intended  only  for 
the  particular  qualities  that  were  mentioned.  Most 
of  the  markets,  perhaps  all,  require  some  of  their 
smoking  tobacco  to  be  strong,  and  as  well  matured, 
as  possible,  before  it  is  cut. 

The  cutting  of  the  tobacco  is  simple,  and  needs  no 
particular  directions.  After  it  has  been  cut,  how- 
ever, it  should  be  removed,  as  quickly  as  possible, 
from  the  influence  of  the  sun,  particularly  if  the  wea- 
ther be  warm,  and  hung  upon  the  sticks,  in  the  man- 
ner (hat  has  been  directed.  When  this  cannot  be 
done,  it  should  be  closely  covered  with  bushes-  whilst 
on  the  scaffold,  or  in  the  heap;  but  as  it  spoils  very 
quickly  when  heaped  together,  it  should  not  long  re- 
8 


58 


main  in  that  state.  Cool,  cloudy,  or  windy  days,  should, 
if  practicable,  always  be  selected  for  cutting.  When 
the  heat  of  the  sun  is  considerable,  and  the  ground 
very  hot  upon  which  the  tobacco  must  necessarily  be 
placed,  the  exposure  of  it  one  or  two  hours  will  fre- 
quently so  much  change  and  injure  its  properties  as 
to  render  it  unsusceptible  of  being  cured  of  good  qua- 
lity. It  should,  therefore,  in  such  weather,  be  always 
removed  to  the  shade  before  it  has  become  perfectly 
limber,  or,  in  planters’  phrase,  “ well  fallen.”  The 
operation  of  the  sun  on  the  plant,  is  always  unequal, 
fluctuating  in  its  force,  and  must,  necessarily,  be  more 
or  less  prejudicial  to  it. 

In  concluding  this  section,  I will  remark,  that  the 
opinion  is  erroneously  entertained,  that  fine  yellow  to- 
bacco cannot  be  produced  unless  it  is  grown  upon 
new  land.  I have  occasionally  seen  the  very  best  qual- 
ity produced  upon  old  land,  that  was  dry,  and  very 
rich.  Such  land  is  well  suited  to  the  production  of 
the  article,  and  will,  under  the  influence  of  a favorable 
season,  and  a proper  system  of  cultivation,  grow  the 
tobacco  to  a full  size,  make  it  yellow,  give  it  a fine 
texture,  make  its  most  valued  properties  abundant, 
and,  I have  no  doubt,  will  proportion  them  as  pro- 
perly as  in  tobacco  grown  upon  new  land.  When  a 
plant  of  tobacco  has  been  thus  grown  and  matured,  it 
will  be  of  the  best  quality;  and  in  estimating  its  va- 
lue, no  regard  should  be  paid  to  the  soil  which  pro- 


59 


duced  it.  In  new  land,  however,  that  is  rich  and  dry 
the  article  will  produce,  of  fine  quality,  with  more  cer- 
tainty than  in  that  of  opposite  descriptions,  and  it 
should  always  be  preferred.  The  best  lands  which  I 
have  ever  seen  for  the  growth  and  production  of  fine, 
large,  yellow  tobacco,  is  to  be  found  in  the  barrens 
and  prairies  of  the  western  part  of  the  United  States 
The  soil  is  rich,  light,  and  dry,  and  seldom  fails  to 
grow  the  tobacco  with  a fine  texture,  and  yellow 
color.  Notwithstanding  these  advantages,  the  article, 
in  that  country,  with  occasional  exceptions,  is  of  an 
inferior  quality,  evidently  owing  to  the  want  of  a pro- 
per system  for  cultivation,  curing,  &c.  When  such 
a system  shall  have  been  adopted,  there  cannot  be  a 
doubt  but  the  tobacco  of  the  West  may  be  brought 
into  a fair  and  full  competition  with  that  of  Virginia, 
or  of  any  other  State. 

The  following  extract,  from  the  claim  attached  to 
the  specification  of  the  patent  granted  for  the  system, 
contains  the  principal  claims  under  that  patent: 

“ I do  not  claim  the  use  of  a thermometer  for  the 
purpose  of  merely  ascertaining  the  temperature  of  a 
room,  but,  as  it  has  never  before  been  employed  as  a 
means  for  carrying  into  effect  a system  of  curing  to- 
bacco, upon  the  principles  described,  I do  claim  the 
use  of  the  thermometer,  or  of  any  analogous  means 
of  regulating  the  temperatures,  upon  the  principles, 
and  for  the  purpose,  herein  designated.  It  is,  indeed, 


60 


possible  to  conduct  the  process  without  the  use  of  a 
thermometer,  although  less  perfectly  than  with  one;  a 
man,  by  habit,  might  judge  of  the  temperatures,  and 
would,  in  my  estimation,  as  actually  violate  my  right 
without,  as  with,  the  use  of  this  instrument. 

“ Scaffolds  may  have  been  used  for  the  purpose  of 
defending  the  tobacco  from  the  direct  action  of,  and 
danger  from,  open  fires;  to  such,  I do  not  assume  any 
claim — but  I do  claim  the  erection  of  scaffolds  for  the 
purpose  of  diffusing  the  heated  air,  so  that  an  equable 
temperature  may  be  preserved  in  every  part  of  the 
house,  (or  a near  approach  made  to  it)  the  same  be- 
ing essential  to  the  curing  of  tobacco  upon  my  sys- 
tem.” 


tHE  END. 


T889E 


507323 


f 

333.71 


